Enbridge has announced the names of two companies hired to construct the Line 5 tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac.
Civil and Building North America and Barnard Construction Company were chosen by Enbridge to build the four-mile tunnel that would house a new segment of the pipeline under the Straits' lake bed.
In a statement, Enbridge said the two companies combined have built nearly 400 miles of tunnel between more than 100 projects. The Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority, a state board appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, also approved the contractors.
An Enbridge spokesperson told WCMU the company will not be disclosing the cost of the contract at this time. The total cost of the tunnel project was estimated to be $500 million, according to Enbridge.
At the last MSCA meeting, Anna Mooney, a government relations manager with Enbridge, said next steps will focus on getting the final permit necessary for the project.
"A lot of the focus, for at least this next year, for the contractor will be around permitting, helping to ensure that we can move forward with the Army Corps and our permitting," Mooney said in February.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will decide whether to grant the permit in 2026. The tunnel would then take around four years to build. Despite calls from the state and Enbridge to expedite review, the USACE has not budged on changing its permitting timeline.
Editor's note: In the interest of transparency, we note that Enbridge is a financial supporter of WCMU.
